Plan for church revamp gets thumbs down over its design
A £2m plan to revamp a church has been refused by a council over fears it could become an eyesore.
Planners at Havant Borough Council had recommended the proposals for Emsworth Baptist Church, in North Street, Emsworth, be approved.
But councillors voted three to two in favour of refusing it because they said the proposed design would not fit in with the rest of Emsworth.
The plan was to demolish the church hall and build a new one with twice the floor space.
The proposed building would be single-storey and include a large foyer and auditorium, which would seat 300 people.
Cllr Ann Buckley, who voted for it, said: ‘I was not completely happy with it, but when I saw inside the building and heard about their vision, I was happy to support it.
‘I think other members felt it did not fit into historic Emsworth. It’s not in the conservation area but is next to it.’
The Rev Dane Baker said he was disappointed with the decision as the church had already modified the plans after lengthy discussions with the council.
He said: ‘We are going to take advice from our architects and look at what the church leadership think is the best way forward.
‘It seems the councillors who voted against had not perhaps appreciated that we had done that much work over the past year modifying plans.’
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Comments
There are 3 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
griffon
Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 08:38 AMIt stuck out like a sore thumb with no relationship to nearby buldings so this time the council got it right. The site is valuable for other uses I would have thought.
Monty Mustard
Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 01:21 AMPerhaps someone should tell Councillor Ann Buckley that planning decisions should be made on planning grounds. Not because she likes the interior or someones vision. She admits that she was not happy with it. She should remember that the residents of Emsworth have to live with the design for the next 100 years. Give us something we can be proud of. please not a brick wall.
MatJeffery
Friday, February 18, 2011 at 12:19 PMConsidering the state of Emsworth Baptist Church right now, I would've thought the design could have looked like a UFO and still be more preferable. The 200 year old building is falling to pieces, and inadequate for community use!
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